Monday, November 30

It's an Ugly Sweater Party Blog Hop! I've teamed up with a dozen of my blog friends to bring you some fun and crazy ideas for your next Ugly Sweater Party!

Check out my tutorial below, then check out what my other blogging friends came up with for their Ugly Sweater Party Ideas this holiday season!! And don't forget to enter the giveaway for $130 in COLD HARD CASH below!!

Ugly Sweater parties are so much fun! I've always wanted to host one myself. This year I've created a customizable Ugly Sweater invitation for your party!

Simply download this file and open it in any photo editing software. From there, use fun sketchy or handwritten fonts for the perfect Chalkboard look.

Make sure to include the date and time, the location, and any details about your party that will draw your guests to attend.

Giveaway rules: Giveaway runs from Monday, November 30th through December 7th at midnight. Winner will be selected by Rafflecopter and notified via email from thecardswedrew@yahoo.com of their winnings. Winner must have a valid PayPal account to claim cash. Winner has 48 hours to respond via email to claim prize otherwise new winner will be selected. The bloggers involved are not responsible for notifications that go to spam or that aren't claimed in time. Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram are not associated with this giveaway and are in no way held responsible. All winning entries will be verified and if not complete, the entry is VOID and another winner is selected. Open to anyone with a valid PayPal account. Good luck!

Wednesday, November 25

My daughter is ten. She has one foot still in childhood and the other in coming teenage-hood.

She still likes a few toys, especially cuddly stuffed animals. But with school, homework, and extracurricular activities, she really doesn't have time to play with them that often.

But, she also wants things like clothes, bubble bath, an iPod, gift cards, and other things like that.

As a mom, I want to get things that she will actually love and use, not sit in the closet collecting dust.

So, I've scoured the ads for some great ideas for tween girls. I have everything from budget buys to that one big splurge present she might find under the tree. I hope it will help inspire you as you do your shopping this year.

Some affiliate links are included in this gift guide. Thank you for supporting Occasionally Crafty!

Budget Buys- under $25

1. Shopkins. These popular collectibles come in many different packs and playsets. My daughter is dying to find one specific one, so she put every variety of these known to man on her list.

2. Minecraft Video Game- if your child doesn't have it yet, she is missing out! I love the creativity and problem-solving this game encourages, even if I don't quite "get" Minecraft as well as my kids do.

3. "Adult" Coloring Books- this popular craze is perfect for your budding artist. Choose one with a theme she loves and include some nice colored pencils.

4. Board Games- my kids love to play games! We play the old ones like "Life", "Monopoly", "Sorry", and more, but we also love newer ones like "Headbanz" "Eye Found It", and "Pictopia".

5. Disney Tsum Tsum Plush- These cute plush are Disney characters, and are perfect stocking stuffers. They also sell larger ones for up to $25. I have seen them at Target and at The Disney Store.

9. Bath and Body Works- my daughter especially loves their bubble bath and lotions. They almost always have a great deal going on.

10. Personalized/Monogrammed Gifts- Justice, Charming Charlies, and many boutiques sell such items as water bottles, purses, journals, and more with your daughter's name and/or initial. My daughter loves things with her initials on them!

Mid-Range Buys- $25-75

1. Lego Dimensions. Despite marketing, Legos aren't just for boys! All my kids love playing Legos, and this game looks to be great fun! You can buy it on Black Friday for $65-75 at various stores.

2. Kindle Fire- This is a great starter tablet. We chose this over others due to the parental controls and huge book library (our kids are readers!).

4. Lego Friends or Lego Elves sets. There is a huge price range in these sets, but if your child is into Legos, these are so much fun to make and very detailed! Try the Heartlake Shopping Mall or the Elves Treetop Hideaway

5. Clothes- girls this age can always use cute new clothes, as they are constantly growing. Don't forget some cute accessories to go with them! We like Target, Kohl's, Old Navy, Justice, and Crazy 8.

8. Gift cards- purchase a gift card to her favorite store and set a date to take her shopping! Try Raise.com to get more bang for your buck!

Special Splurges- $75 and up

1. iPod Nano. A great mp3 player so she can listen to her favorite music.

2. WiiU- with tons of games that are family friendly, this video game console is the perfect choice for kids when you're not quite ready for all those shooter games that are so popular. Plus you can play the old Nintendo games, like the original Super Mario Bros!

3. American Girl Dolls. My daughter and her friends have yet to outgrow these dolls. If you can find a great deal on them, get one. It is a great investment and resells well if taken care of when your daughter does outgrow them. I'd only get this if I had a younger tween- 9 or 10.

Monday, November 16

This has been a great year for me. So many of you are visiting my blog, leaving comments, and sharing my projects with your friends. You deserve something special! I wish I could give something to all of you- but one of you has a great chance to win:

It's the time of year when we often reflect on and give thanks for the blessings in our lives. You, my loyal readers, are one of the things I'm most thankful for here at Occasionally Crafty. To show just how thankful I am, I've teamed up with several of my blogger friends to give you a chance to win a $200 Amazon e-Gift Card in the Give Thanks Giveaway hosted by:

Wednesday, November 11

Ever wish Costco opened just a little earlier so you could get your shopping done before the day gets too far along?

Arizona Locals! This Friday, November 13th, City Moms Blog Network, North Phoenix Moms Blog, and Costco present Costco Mom Hour- a holiday shopping event just for moms! Costco is opening its doors at 9am on this one day only!

There's more than just shopping to be had, though.

Swag Bags for the first 100 attendees

Samples/goodies available at warehouses (Kid + Mom targeted products)

Exclusive membership offers

Giveaways (at participating locations, must be registered to participate and present to win)

Register to reserve your spot and to enter the giveaway (details here)

Tuesday, November 10

Bring some antiqued Christmas sheet music into your decor with this beautiful Christmas Wood Slice Plaque!

Hey everyone! I am over at The Crafting Chicks today, sharing the tutorial for this Christmas Sheet Music Wood Slice Plaque! I am in love with mine, and I hope you'll click over to see how easy it is to make one of your own!

Monday, November 9

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutMovieNight #CollectiveBias

Give Inside Out to your movie loving friends or family by making this cute Movie Night In Gift Box!

I don't know about your family, but we have been anxiously awaiting the release of Inside Out on DVD!

The day it came out, I headed to Target to pick up a copy, since copies bought at Target come with 20 minutes of exclusive bonus content and deleted scenes! Go grab yours or order yours here today.

While I was there, I decided to go all out and picked up some popcorn and candy to make the perfect movie night gift. I love that Target has everything you need to put your own movie night gift together.

To give an DVD in a cute and fun way, put together this "Movie Night In" Gift Box! It's easy to make with just a few supplies.

Please see the pictures above each set of instructions for visual help!

1. Cut an 8.5x11 sheet of scrapbook paper in half to have two 8.5x5.5 pieces.
Score each piece of paper 3/4 upfrom the short edge. If you don't have a scorer, simply fold your paper up 3/4 inch from the short edge and crease.

2. Overlap scored or folded pieces and glue in place. You should know have one long sheet with a somewhat flat section in the middle.

3. Fold your wrapper in half, making sure the side you want on the outside is facing up.

6. Find the center of your back piece, and again, 3/4 inch down, punch a small hole and insert a piece of baker's twine or string. Do this by folding your twine in half, then pushing the loop through the hole and over the ends of the twine to secure. This should go up and over the top edge of the back side, and the end pieces will go over the top to wrap around the brad when the DVD is in place.

7. Using this pattern, cut two pocket pieces from coordinating scrapbook paper.

8. Score along the dotted lines on the pattern piece.

9. Fold and glue into pocket shapes. You're going to want to use a strong adhesive for the pockets, as they will be holding goodies!

10. Embellish pockets as desired. I only embellished my front pocket, but you could do both. For mine, I just cut a scrap piece of coordinating striped paper, made up a label, and glued both on. Then I put a glitter flower sticker and some baker's twine from my stash.

Here's what the back looks like. I put the Market Pantry popcorn here.

The front pocket holds some Inside Out stickers and some Market Pantry gummy bears in a baggie. You could include your recipient's favorite candy instead. Gummy bears happen to be my weakness :)

This is a fun way to give any movie as a gift this season, or really for any occasion!